Sartell–St. Stephen board review flags broken trust, stalemate over chair and calls for clearer communication

The Sartell–St. Stephen School Board spent most of a facilitated work session reviewing a board self-evaluation and debating how to repair frayed interpersonal trust after a year of contentious meetings and closely split votes.

Board members and Minnesota School Boards Association facilitator Gail Gilman agreed the group’s highest-priority issues are (1) the unresolved impasse over who will serve as board chair on a six-member board and (2) damaged trust among members tied to events from the prior year. The session produced no formal policy changes; participants identified follow-up steps including finishing a board handbook, launching a strategic-planning process and tightening communications with the public.

The question of who should serve as chair has produced a continuing 3–3 stalemate since the organizational meeting in January. The impasse has meant the group has twice failed so far this year to elect a permanent chair and has been opening meetings with the issue on the agenda, members said. One board member called that pattern “a bad look” for the district and said it risks undermining the new superintendent’s start.

Several members urged a path to restore trust. Board member Jen Smith described personal safety concerns tied to disputes last year: "I had law enforcement escorting me to and from meetings. I had law enforcement surveilling my house. There was intimidation tactics, in my opinion, that were used to try to sway my vote." Smith said the experience, and related slander she described as false, left lasting wounds that make it difficult to support restoring prior leadership without changes.

Other board members said the breakdown in relations is mutual and urged two-way steps to rebuild trust. Participants offered practical options to break the stalemate: 1-on-1 conversations between members, inviting a different board member to join the superintendent and acting chair when they set agendas, and scheduling facilitated workshops. Minnesota School Boards Association staff suggested mediation-style workshops and noted a Braver Angels–style program would be offered to multiple boards in the region.

Facilitator Gail Gilman framed the meeting as an assessment rather than a performance review and recommended concrete next steps: finalize a localized board handbook, create a shared strategic plan to align goals and budgeting, schedule regular updates on student achievement and facilities, and improve the ways the board summarizes and shares meeting outcomes with the community. "If there's anything I can do to help you out, please don't hesitate to reach out," Gilman told the board.

Members praised the board’s recent unanimous hiring of Superintendent Mike Rivard, saying that decision had provided some stability. Rivard and several members agreed the superintendent should lead efforts to provide clearer, consistent updates—particularly on curriculum review cycles, proficiency-based grading implementation, and district finances—and that communications staff should be used to push concise summaries to the public.

On curriculum and instruction, board members asked for clearer descriptions of the curriculum-review cycle and for more structured opportunities for parent and community input when major adoption decisions are considered. They also asked for more regular, digestible student-achievement reports so trustees can monitor progress without parsing lengthy packet materials.

The board agreed to return at future meetings with concrete proposals: a timeline for completing the board handbook localization, a plan and schedule for strategic-planning work that includes outside stakeholders, and proposals from communications staff for short, shareable meeting summaries (members floated a “three takeaways” format). The group also recorded interest in one-on-one outreach between members and in possibly convening an outside facilitator if bilateral conversations prove insufficient.

No formal votes on governance changes or leadership assignments took place during the session. Board members said they will continue bringing the chair election to the opening of subsequent meetings until a permanent resolution is reached.